Dubai it's not all Dark for women

Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi - I was
taking picture of fountain, woman is
incidental. December 2007

By North American standards perhaps Dubai still looks like it has a lot of work to do before men and women get treated equally by society. But from Middle-Eastern standards, Emirati women are the best off in all the Arab world. For starters they are the best educated women in the middle east. Education is payed up to the doctorate degree and many women have taken advantage to get an education. In any subject that interests them.

Wearing an Emirati style matching
Abaya and Hijab. This one has a
simple pattern some are more fancy

One thing I can say from observing Emirati women moving around Dubai is that they do not walk like women who are oppressed. We've all seen in photos and sometimes in real life, women who appear to be carrying the entire world on their shoulders, you can sense the oppression. Sometimes it's almost palpable. Most of the Emirati women I've seen, walk like they are gliding. It's really something to watch a few young Emirati women walking through the Mall of the Emirates, it's like they walk on air with their bejewelled abaya's and matching hijab.  I know the majority wear plain black abaya and hijab, but it's gulf style. They don't wear an abaya/hijab because they are oppressed and have to wear it, they don't wear it because a law imposes it on them, they wear it because they are proud of their culture, proud to be Emirati's. Proud to be recognized as Emirati's, considering in some parts of the UAE they are only 10% of the population.

Linked from a blog - Emirati women
wearing stylish black abaya's.

Those who want it all can have it all. When we opened our bank account at the Jebel Ali HSBC, we were served only by Emirati women. It was interesting, one wore a simple bejewelled matching abaya and hijab, one wore a plain black abaya and hijab and  her abaya was opened to show western clothes underneath, and another was just dressed in western business attire. One of those working at the bank was glowing with pregnancy.  From what I understand those women who want to work can work. The UAE has recently opened both their military and police force to women.  Sure there are some jobs that aren't accessible to women right now, but it is changing really fast.

From a Western standard we may think our Emirati sisters are being oppressed but from their perspective they have it good. They have access to a free education as far as they would like to go. They have access to careers should they want one. They can marry who they see fit and they can also get a divorce if it didn't work out.  They are entitled to a dowry.  Even if they chose to stay home, undoubtedly they have help with the children and with the house care. An American woman has a good blog entry about women in contemporary Dubai Culture.

Emirati women and child walking on
Dubai beach. One of my original
pastel drawings finished 08-03-10

From my perspective Emirati women seemed respected by their male counterparts and pampered and treated like princesses by their male relatives/husbands.  Fifteen Emirati women are in the list of the one hundred most successful Arab women When I look at the rights I have as a woman here in Canada and compare to the rights the women have in the UAE, I can see that there is room for improvement in both cultures.

I'd would have loved to have pictures of Emirati women to illustrate this blog, but I was respectful of the Emirati's right to privacy and have almost zero photo's of them going about. The ones I do have were incidental shots, and the majority are of Emirati men. I was taking a building or fountain and someone happened to wander through.

Here's other entries on Dubai:
The dark side of Dubai
More on the dark side of Dubai
The dark side of Dubai laws
Dubai Benefits from the Instabilities of the Arab Spring